SINGAPORE: Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOB) maintained its guidance for 2025 after posting on Wednesday (Feb 19) a 9 per cent rise in fourth-quarter net profit that beat expectations and announcing a S$3 billion (US$2.24 billion) package to return surplus capital.
“Our long-term investments in regional platforms and capabilities are paying off, and we expect continued revenue growth this year,” UOB CEO Wee Ee Cheong said in a statement.
UOB, Singapore’s third-biggest bank, said October-December net profit climbed to S$1.52 billion from S$1.40 billion a year earlier on the back of higher net interest income supported by loan growth.
This beat the mean estimate of almost S$1.46 billion from four analysts polled by LSEG.
UOB, which is also Southeast Asia’s third-largest bank by assets, expected its 2025 cost-to-income ratio to be around 42 per cent, the top end of the 41 per cent to 42 per cent range it had projected in November.
Other than that, the bank kept its outlook for 2025, according to Wee’s presentation slides accompanying the fourth-quarter earnings.
UOB’s results followed that of larger peer DBS Group, which last week posted a 10 per cent year-on-year jump in fourth-quarter net profit that met expectations and announced a dividend capital return plan.
This sent shares to a record high, as much as 1.4 per cent of S$39.20 per share.
Singaporean banks were forecast to post stronger profits for the fourth quarter, but growth could take a hit this year as US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs and other policies threaten to undermine the global economy, analysts said.
Alongside its results, UOB announced a capital return package to distribute surplus capital over the next three years. That includes a special dividend of 50 Singapore cents a share in 2025 and a S$2 billion share buyback programme.
It declared a final dividend of 92 Singapore cents per share for 2024, versus the 85 Singapore cents announced during the same quarter a year ago for 2023.
Net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, narrowed slightly to 2.00 per cent in the fourth quarter from 2.02 per cent in the same period a year earlier.
Rival Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation is scheduled to report its financial results on Feb 26.
